Thursday, December 31, 2009

It's been a long year (yet it seemed to move really fast) so while Im sitting hear watching the Three Stooges marathon I decided to write my final words of 2009. '09 was definitely a great year and I want to start by saying thanks to everyone that showed mad love and support for everything Skeme Richards, Hot Peas and Butta and more. Love to all of the promotors that have booked me worldwide and to the people that have enjoyed the music that I spun. To all of my old friends and the new ones alike, thank you for the support! Im gonna keep it fresh in 2010 as well, theres alot of things going on so expect to see and hear alot from me!

Ricky Powell is an old skool thorough bred type of dude! He's all around New York City, loves the Knicks, knows all the right people from graff writers to Hip Hoppers and his favorite kicks are my favorite kicks, the Puma Clydes. He's got a new DVD coming out soon called Rappin with the Rickster, should be dope.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Finally updated the Hot Peas and Butta website with pics from the HPB x Funky Sole party. If you missed the party then you missed one helluva good time, but fear not..... Listen to the audio from the party and view all the pics at the same time, almost as good as being there (not really).

Saturday, December 26, 2009

After the last few years of doing our "8th Wonder" James Brown tribute party in Philly we've finally decided to make the move and introduce it to Brooklyn NY! Thats right, on Jan. 8th Hot Peas and Butta presents: 8th Wonder - A James Brown Tribute w/ DJ's Amir and myself on the 1's and 2's. As always funky footage showing on the projectors!

Finally finished editing the audio from last weeks Hot Peas and Butta x Funky Sole party in LA w/ myself, DJ Amir, Music Man Miles and Clifton dropping 45's. Its actually broken up into parts 1 / 2 give it a listen and enjoy!

Monday, December 21, 2009

Hot Peas and Butta x Funky Sole in LA was crazy!! Im just going thru a few of the many pics that were taken throughout the night reminiscing already of the fun time. So many heads came thru to support too, Rakaa (Dilated Peoples), Mr. Choc (Beat Junkies), DJ P-Trix, Adrian Young (Black Dynamite), George Belson and so many more. Plus the place was packed with beautiful people getting down to them funky sounds!! Here's just a few pics, the rest can be seen on the Hot Peas and Butta website (www.hotpeasandbutta.com) in a couple days. My man Ervin (www.ervinarana.com) came thru lovely on the photoraphy side of things!! LA really knows how to party!! Love you guys and gals.

Seems like I've enjoyed warm sunny weather for the last two weeks just to come back home to miserableness! I was in Orlando, Florida 2 weeks ago hosting and DJ'ing Outbreak 5. The event was great, got to see and hangout with alot of my peeps and drank a shitload of beer. So after being in that Orlando weather I arrive back home to cold rain, might be time to move to a better climate area!

So my Cali trip was supposed to be quick, fly in Saturday morn then fly out Sunday morn. We'll I guess that didn't happen because Im still (stuck?) here. My flight back to the 215 was cancelled due to the plane being snowed in at Philly airport. I arrived to LAX at 5:30am and this place was a madhouse due to the East Coast weather conditions screwing everything. So after being put on standby and not being able to make the last 2 planes I asked what are my options (remember its Sunday) they tell me that my only option is the first flight out on Tuesday morning?! What?! Weather x Holiday travels have really screwed things up! Well its either be pissed or call my homie Mixxie up and tell him to scoop me from the airport so L.A. I'm here to stay (at least for a few days). But wait, my luggage is on the flight that I was scheduled to get on and on its way back to Philly without me, oh well guess I gotta do some shopping while Im here to. So after heading back to Mixxies crib we decided to make good on the "what if I didnt get back to Phillly convo that we had the day before which was to have a barbeque. What the hell, nice smoked ribs and chicken or snow? I'll take option 1! His homie Patrick which which studied culinary for years broke out the smokers, made the special rubs, black beans, asparagas and assorted beers on deck (because these guys are beer connesieurs) and after 4 hours of the meat being smoked it was on! Well worth sitting in the airport for 1/2 a day.

Back at home, the crib, the car.

Who needs snow when you can be in L.A. having smoked ribs and chicken on the back deck?

Well right about now I have a little bit of time to update the blog about the beginning of the Hot Peas and Butta x Funky Sole trip to Los Angeles. First let me say that I got out of Philly just in time! It started snowing about an hour before I left to go to the airport and we were in for a major storm. So after boarding the plane @ 800am we sat on the gate, de-icing station and runway for a total of 3 hours waiting for depart which sucks. They even shut the airport down for 15 mins due to low visibility which really had me scared that I would miss my own party. Amir had already arrived in L.A. and Lance was leaving from Newark at 830 so I needed to be on route quick. So after the 3 hour delay we finally got the green light to takeoff, this is one time that I really didn't want to get delayed because after our flight and the other few planes that had already boarded had taken off the airport was shut down and no others were allowed to leave.

The only things that saved me from really going insane on the plane was the fact that I was sitting in first class, gotta love the service! And watching Bruce Lee's Chinese Connection and also a bunch of Kung Fu flix trailers, this really got me into the Hot Peas state of mind!

Classic viewing for those long flights!

I dont usually drink in the morning but my nerves really needed it. Keep'em coming lady!

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

One thing that I've always loved was those 60's Hammer Horror films. Hammer was a british company that did they best Vampire movies and others staring some of the best in the game like Christopher Lee, Vincent Price and more. If your up on your horror genre then you know that these flix are Cult Classics! But one thing that they've always had was some of the best chicks for the job in them as well. If you a fan of real horror flix, not this new shit then this is for you.

Hammer Glamour: A Glorious Tribute to the Queens of Hammer Horror.

In the ’50s and ’60s, British movie studio Hammer got over with a prolific franchise of lush, bloody monster movies (once referred to as "tit and fang" movies). This is less about the "fang" and more about the "tit." Not that we have a problem with that.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Back in the summer I was interviewed while rolling thru New York city for UK Bboy Championships TV which is shown in London and other parts of Europe on one of their action sports network channels that shows extreme sports. The show aired back in October and will repeat itself once all of the seasons episodes are finished. You can peep the show online right now, my segment is at 8:30 if you wanna breeze thru to see how I get down at Big City Records. Shouts to Jared for letting me spend a few hours in there with the camera crew. It's episode 1 that you should be looking at.

Friday, December 4, 2009

Aight Im usually the Clarks Wallabee dude and my man Elroy Jenkins usually gets down with the Desert Boots but I might have to cop these joints! It figures their only available in Japan, why does Japan get all the goods? It's ok, Im bout to make the purchase anyway for this classic and basic gem right here.

As you know the Hot Peas and Butta squad will be making the trip out West in a couple weeks to get down at Funky Sole with Miles and Cilfton, well Evil Monito just did an interview with Funky Sole Resident and lead of the band Breakestra. Quality read.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

We're doing a very limited run of Hot Peas and Butta x Funky Sole shirts for our first trip out to the West Coast. This shirt will be discontinued once the party is over so grab yours now!! The first Hot Peas shirt shown on the website is selling well so thank you to everyone that has made a purchase, hopefully we'll see you rockin them soon.

If your interested in purchasing the Limited Edition HPB x Funky Sole shirts order them over at www.hotpeasandbutta.com

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Its crazy how for the last few years the sale of Vinyl has been steadily rising and CD sales have decreased. I don't expect to see current top 40 artists releasing vinyl but its good that labels like Record Breakin, Daptone, Skyline and Stones Throw to name a few are doing it proper justice. But with any trend the majors are surely going to try to capitalize on it as well. Here's a nice article on the topic.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

If you know me or have been following the rants for a while then you know that I hate when Hollywood remakes an already classic movie just for the sake of not having any new ideas or thinking that they have an already built in crowd. Another thing that has tweeked me up is this whole DJ Hero shit!! Guitar here was very innovative and fresh and when I saw them advertising DJ hero I was like that shit is wack and is gonna flop, then I started seeing a few fellow DJ friends co-signing it before it was released. Wow how things have changed, no one's talking about it, shit was getting bad reviews and sales where bad, what a waste of money! But to top it off now Tony Hawk has a skate boarding game that comes with the board, guess what??? It scored a 1 out of 5. Someone comes up with an idea then you ride the wave and do similar things, guess its no different then when the "producer of the day" comes out and everybody sounds like them and every song on the radio has that same sound. Maybe people are finally waking up and not settling for bullshit, hopefully so!

Hot Peas and Butta takes a trip over the Sunny California to spin a "Double Feature" w/ those Funky Sole guys, Music Man Miles (Breakestra) and Clifton. I've had alot of fun spinning with those cats the last couple of years and Im sure this time will be no diff. I've got my Hot Peas partner DJ Amir rocking the 1's and 2's with me so the people will definitely be in for a treat. Definitely looking forward to getting back out there and doing what I do plus eating at Roscos Chicken and Waffles!!

Alot of people have been asking me for months now when I'll be doing a new episode of the $2 Soul Show, well wait no more!! The $2 Soul Show relaunch's in January, I haven't really had time to keep up doing the monthly podcast but Im going to make it a priority to keep blessing your ears with that good ol' funk, soul, breaks, jazz and more every month. The previous shows are still available for stream or download but be sure to check back as January is quickly approaching.

Finally had a nice 4 day weekend of relaxation to sit around the crib and do nada this past weekend. Minus the entertaining of family for dinner on Friday then heading to the Walnut Room to spin Friday night I hadn't stepped outside since Wednesday which is just what the doctor ordered. I've been so wrapped up with business and getting Hot Peas and Butta up and running I haven't had time to just relax, catch up on some flix and lounge on the couch.

Watched alot of kung fu flix, Blaxploitation and even some classic Anime all of which got my creativity flowing to get back into the lab and work on some music.

In addtion to some quality viewing I got alot of gaming in on my arcade machine, strictly classics like 1942, Commando, Ghosts and Goblins, Elevator Action and Street Fight. A little R&R does a supa genius right!

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Here is a piece done by legendary old school New York graff artist Iz The Wiz that was given to me about 2 years ago by someone close to him that used to come to my parties in New York. Iz The Wiz past away earlier this year but Im glad that I have some of his work.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Very interesting new documentary on cutting dubplates which is definitely a lost art especially around these parts. I remember back in the 80's there was a guy who had a record store a few blocks up from me that used to cut dub plates in the basement. Damn what I wouldn't do to have that guy still around here.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

To kick off the launch of the Hot Peas and Butta website we're doing a nice run of Hot Peas T's!! Amir and myself were the only ones rocking these at our parties so we're now making them available to others as well. Alot of people asked if they could buy them while they were at the party so he it is! The shirt features Amir, myself and fellow record king DJ Supreme aka Supreme La Rock. We're going to be releasing alot of things in the very near future exclusive to the site so be on the lookout of some really cool limited edition things.

Think of the connection between Kaws and Pharrell Williams and that's the feeling I get when it comes to me and one of the freshest dudes out there, Ewok 5MH. I've been really lovin Ewok's work for a while now and he's really become that guy who people want works of his hanging up in the homes. Not only has he Bombed the city of New York hard, he paints with some of the best dudes like Cope2 KD, has also been featured in various books and magazines plus has a sought after vinyl figure known as the Horselington (which goes for big bucks, especially the even rarer version)and is talked about about on mad blogs. Fat Cap recently caught up with him to discuss alot of different things. If your a person who is into art or looking for something to invest in then you need to cop something of his now, your walls will be very happy and your pockets will be fat when you try to sell it! Trust me.

Its been a minute since I've done a "Coffee Table Status" and I've actually had a bunch of really good magazines over the last few months but this new Wax Poetics should definitely be on your table if your a lover of Blaxploitation cinema soundtracks and scores. The dual covers include Curtis Mayfield (Super Fly) and Ralph Bakshi's "Coonskin" (which is a great film!!). Wax Poetics has really been on a roll with the interviews and it continues on in issue 38. In addition, my man Blax (Cured Sweet Potatoes) does an incredible story on the "Greatest Hustler of All Time", Iceberg Slim!! You know that my party Hot Peas and Butta thrives on Blaxploitation films and culture of that time period so this should definitely grace your table.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Finally getting around to doing updates!! Got alot of things past, present and future jumping off. Hot Peas and Butta switzerland went off successfully as did the Hot Peas and Butta x Wax Poetics Black Dynamite Soundtrack release party in Brooklyn. The burger quest is still on and I experienced a tasty one in Switzerland, the long overdue return of the $2 Soul Show podcast will be back in effect in January which Im excited to getting back to blessing everyone with those funk and soul gems. In December Hot Peas and Butta hits sunny Los Angelese to do a Funky Sole x Hot Peas and Butta party! Thats right, DJ Amir and myself meet up with Miles (Breakestra) and Clifton to do a double feature of massive proportions!!! But the biggest update that has finally made it is the launch of Hot Peas and Butta the web site (www.hotpeasandbutta.com) Its still under construction but you can check it out, see some pics, find out what makes us tick, Hot Peas and Butta t-shirts and more. In the next few months there will be alot of great merch for sale and other funky things so be on the look out!!!

So I'm still on that ultimate burger quest! Its rare that I get a quality burger while traveling to Europe but this time while in Switzerland I actually had a freakin tasty burger!! I have to give this a 4 out of 5, the quality of beef, texture and the way it was prepared was on point. There was not need for ketchup on this one, just give me a nice cold beer to wash it down with and we're straight. Its not in my top 10 burgers worldwide but definitely my top 2 in Europe so far!

The second gig while I was out in Switzerland was at the Loft. The Loft is that place where you gotta bang them with that top 40 shit but if your a proper DJ that you can spin just about whatever you want, and thats what I did! Good music is good music and people need to understand that Im not gonna play bullshit if Im not feeling it just for the sake of the crowd, thats how Philly gets down! I dont remember what I came in with but I blessed them lovely and still played some good Top 40 stuff, no dirty south either! The crowd was great though and I had a great time.

So Hot Peas and Butta's first European party went down as a success! We threw it down at my favorite spot in Laussane called Vinyl Club. This is a dope spot with a nice sound system, loungy area, giant wall projector, beautiful bar tenders and a down about the funk and soul owner! When I arrived the local DJ, Bid who spins reggae 45's was already setting up so the owner was showing me around the new renovations they did since the last time I was there. The best part of the renovations was the crazy turntable platter that sits under class in the center of the dancefloor area, and get this....It actually spins and you can change the color or it. Never seen anything like that before but it was crazy!! The night was crazy with me dropping mad funk and soul 45's and bid hitting heads with that reggae shit. Definitely doing it again next year!

Haven't really had a chance to go thru all of the Switzerland pics yet but Im throwing a few up to keep me motivated for another appearance in the near future. The weather was so perfect while out there too, perfect hoody weather with no rain and just a hint of clouds in the air. Did alot of walking too which is a rarity for me since I drive everywhere I go.